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naushika
I'm only recently a real fan of Radiohead (of course I've always known about them, but aside from Creep and Karma Police I thought they were mostly just weird), but you don't want to know how much of their music I've been listening to lately.. Anyway I was putting this list together because I was bored and wanted to see where I would rank the songs off each of their albums, and it just ended up expansive so I decided to post it on lj (why not? lol). I think I might actually do this for some of my other favorite bands with extensive catalogs, like Oingo Boingo, Modest Mouse, Muse, Incubus, etc.
Pablo Honey
Radiohead's first album, and arguably my least favorite of theirs, is very 90s. Lots of grunge-ish alt rock, and even the album cover is so incredibly 90s. But the tinges of what they would evolve into are there.
Creep
whatever makes you happy
whatever you want
you're so very special
I wish I was special
I think everyone loves Creep. It's the best song on the album, one is regarded as one of Radiohead's best songs. I'll be honest, it's not even in my own personal top 10 Radiohead songs, but I jammed out to it in middle school and I still like it. It's a solid song with a good tune and great lyrics people can identify with.
Anyone Can Play Guitar
grow my hair
I wanna be
wanna be
wanna be
Jim Morrison
I almost think I like this song better than Creep. This is one of the songs that really hints at the direct Radiohead would eventually take. There's some discordant notes, and the lyrics make a bit less sense, lol. Man this video is ridiculous though. XD
The Bends
Another alt rock album, but this one is much, much better than Pablo Honey. Despite being an older album, this is one of my faves. Just a lot of real solid songs. I like this album because the lyrics got way more interesting, imo. A bit deeper. The music is more complex. It's a really good album.
The Bends
I wanna live, breathe
I wanna be part of the human race
Most of my favorite Radiohead songs are like a rushing river, and you're just sitting in a tiny boat in the middle of it, riding the song from start to end. This is one such song for me. It has amazing guitar work, and the bit at around ~3:02 gives me chills every time, when the song just hits a crazy crescendo.
Fake Plastic Trees
but I can’t help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
if I just turn and run
This is one of those songs where the lyrics could really be anything, because a) this is about when Thom Yorke started mumble-singing (though I don't mind, I like it, lol) and b) the lyrics don't matter all that much, this song is all about the music. The song builds and builds in a glorious, slow way.
OK Computer
OK Computer is where Radiohead really took a sharp turn. Though it's still alt rock, it's much more experimental. I think the artwork really reflects the style. Frenetic, disjointed, sharp, bright. All things this album is. AND I LOVE IT. OK Computer is considered by many to be Radiohead's best album. It's definitely one of my faves.
Paranoid Android
rain down, rain down
come on rain down on me
from a great height
from a great height, height
This is an epic song, basically. It's more of a musical journey, in part because it was three parts from three songs written by three different members of the band, then smushed together in one song. Yet, it works. I love the end of the song, when Thom Yorke starts singing "God loves his children" in a wonderfully sarcastic way.
Exit Music (For a Film)
breathe, keep breathing
don’t lose your nerve
breathe, keep breathing
I can’t do this alone
A bit less scathing and harsh, Exit Music is more heavy, musically. Also lyrically. This song was written for the end credits of the movie Romeo + Juliet, and is echoing the mood of the story of Romeo and Juliet, so it's a very sad song really.
Kid A
If OK Computer is where Radiohead took a turn, then Kid A is where they got out of the car and jumped into the TARDIS. There's a lot of electronica and very experimental stuff in here. There's also random stuff like elements of jazz, and an orchestra. This was a turning point for the band itself as Thom Yorke started dealing with depression here, of wanting to turn away from Radiohead's previous sound. So yeah, this is a very very different album, one that alienated some fans. Personally, this is my absolute favorite Radiohead album. Every song on it from start to finish is amazing. It really made it hard to pick two!
The National Anthem
everyone
everyone is so near
everyone has got the fear
it’s holding on
it’s holding on
The first part of this song is carried by a great buildup of guitars and drums, with a heavy bass line. Then Thom's singing comes in, a little bit strange, a little bit off, singing about some very bleak things. Then halfway through the song, a crazy brass section comes to life. Everything coalesces into a louder and louder mixing of instruments, which drops off, then builds again. This is another one of those songs that just brings you along for the ride. Am I weird for thinking this is a great song to dance to? I am, I am weird. The end of the song seems almost imcomprehensible, almost like it's just instruments shouting at each other, but that bass keeps it tied down. I love it.
Idioteque
we’re not scaremongering
this is really happening
happening
Idioteque is my favorite Radiohead song. FAVORITE. Because I've always known about Radiohead and always sort of liked their music (ie Creep, Karma Police) but any time I heard anything else from them I was like "WTF is this?" But when I heard this song, I was totally drawn in. Everything about this song is wrong. Screeching electronic noises, distorted drums, depressing lyrics. I feel like this is the song you play when it's the end of the world. And of course, I love the end of the world scenario (books, movies, why not music?). But it's this song that made me really listen to Radiohead, and as it turns out, I like a lot of their stuff. Idk if it's their best song, and it might be one of their weirdest ones, but it's absolutely my favorite.
Amnesiac
Most of the songs on Amnesiac were recorded at the same time as Kid A, so they are connected somewhat, but really, it's a very different album. It's slower, a bit softer around the edges, a bit more haunting.
Pyramid Song
I jumped in the river and what did I see?
black-eyed angels swimming with me
a moon full of stars and astral cars
all the figures I used to see
I like the video for this song, because I feel like it is very evocative of an underwater atmosphere. I love how Radiohead can paint a different atmosphere with every song. The music itself is so slippery and seems to lack structure, floating from one moment to the next. I like to listen to this song in bed, it's very calming.
Life in a Glass House
once again, we are hungry for a lynching
that’s a strange mistake to make
you should turn the other cheek
living in a glass house
I really can't get over the trumpet in this song. And the clarinet! It's fantastic. I don't know how they managed to meld jazz and electronica in a way that's pleasing to the ear, but they did it. It somehow adds a slight festive feeling to a song that's really kind of paranoid and accusatory.
Hail to the Thief
I think OK Computer and Kid A were the great electronica experiments, and after that, Radiohead re-incorporated some of their alt rock roots. I think they'll always be hanging way out on the fringes of music, I doubt they could return to alt rock entirely. Electronic and odd elements remain a part of their music from here out. But this album does take it down a notch.
We Suck Young Blood
are you fracturing?
are you torn at the seams?
would you do anything?
flea-bitten? moth-eaten?
This song is just straight up weirdly creepy. I love clapping in songs. It always brings a strange element to the table. This song just oozes like molasses, and has a brief explosion of energy in the middle, which I think just makes the whole song.
A Wolf at the Door
I keep the wolf from the door
but he calls me up
calls me on the phone
tells me all the ways that he’s gonna mess me up
Radiohead is really good at building up a texture of a song. A Wolf at the Door grows and grows, with the vocals getting more harried. Many of the lyrics don't make much sense, with lines about getting "a flan in the face" and such, lol. But I like it, to me this reminds me of what media and advertising is like in society sometimes. I don't know if that was the point of the song, but it's the same never-ending assault of the senses. Many of Radiohead's songs seem political in nature, but the lyrics are always so vague that it's hard to know what they really mean. I like ascribing my own meaing anyway. :)
In Rainbows
Ahh, In Rainbows. This is my second favorite album. :) It harkens back towards Kid A a bit, and has more electronics than HTTT. But I think it's a very melodic album, and you can really tell that it's the work of an accomplished band with years of experimentation behind them to find what works.
15 Step
etcetera etcetera
facts for whatever
fifteen steps
then a sheer drop
This is the opening track to In Rainbows, which really sets the tone. An intense, fast-moving beat right out of the gate. Lots of cool drumwork in this song (in fact this whole album has some great drums), and randomly some kids shouting in the middle of it, haha. And it's got some eerie sounding stuff in it too of course. This song is an adventure and feels like it could be in a movie or something.
Jigsaw Falling into Place
I never really got there
I just pretended that I had
words are blunt instruments
words are sawn off shotguns
Unf, this song. It goes places. This song is pretty much about getting way too drunk and being an ass, but somehow manages to ascend it beyond that. This is another song that I love to dance to. The beat starts and then just doesn't quit. And the guitar at ~3:00 is freaking magical.
The King of Limbs
Their most recent album, which is a bit more calm than In Rainbows, but is again a mix of alt rock and electronica. It feels a bit transition-y, which it is, really, as Radiohead seems to be switching gears a bit again. This album is very short and more free-form, but it's got a great sound to it.
Lotus Flower
there’s an empty space inside my heart
where the weeds take root
so now I’ll set you free
I’ll set you free
The vocals drive a big part of this song, which is actually kind of rare for a Radiohead song. Usually the vocals are more of an accompaniment or instrument rather than the feature, but here they are. I think that's what makes this song interesting. Really, I just can't get enough of the falsetto vocals, which is a secret love of mine. Falsettoooo.
Seperator
like I’m falling out of bed
from a long, weary dream
finally I’m free of all the weight I’ve been carrying
This has a great beat, and a reverberating guitar throughout the whole song, and dreamy lyrics. I think it's the best song on TKOL, and it's a style more reminiscent of OK Computer. This song feels like floating on clouds. Thom Yorke has said he likes to focus on rhythms in Radiohead's songs, and I think this is a good example of that.
*****
Fin!
Here are some honorable mentions that I couldn't bear to not have on here..
How to Disappear Completely - Kid A
Hunting Bears - Amnesiac
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - In Rainbows
Feral - The King of Limbs
12 million internet points to you if you got to the end of this!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-27 01:03 am (UTC)So, I loved the post. Because *~*♥RADIOHEAD♥*~*! I discovered them my freshman year of high school, which was pre-being able to download everything on the internet, so Best Buy was my JAM, where I bought all the foreign imports and B-sides and shit. I would lay in bed in the dark with my little Discman just listening to Radiohead for hoooooooouuuuuurs. I think I ended up listening to The Bends and OK Computer probably a bazillion times.
(I made a short film my sophomore year at USC that is basically a music video for Paranoid Android. It is...not good.)
Although man, now I feel like a bad fan, because I still don't The King of Limbs. I need to track that down, obviously.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-28 06:33 am (UTC)Omg, yessss, that is one of my favorite ways to listen to Radiohead. Probably every other night when I go to bed I put in my earbuds and just listen to Radiohead for like an hour before going to sleep.
I WANT TO SEE THE VIDEO EVEN IF IT'S NOT GOOD! :D
Aww, don't feel like a bad fan. There's a few albums for some of my favorite bands I have yet to listen to. It happens!